“If these bills get passed, there’s nothing stopping other billionaires from creating their own company towns and owning more of Texas,” said Bekah Hinojosa, a local activist.
Our Brownsville home is about 8 miles due west of Starbase. I can watch the launches from the end of my driveway. Even at that distance, the noise is impressive, and the ground shakes. The state historic site Port Isabel Lighthouse is half that distance, and they have had to set up monitoring equipment to measure the damage to the structure. They also have had to build a padded cradle to enclose the precious Fresnel lens during launches. And we the taxpayers get to fund it. What a good deal!
The grift is that it is "creating jobs" in the area. Really? What makes anyone think that Brownsville, Texas is a cradle for rocket scientists? The prime job holders are imported. But the local administration has its ego stroked by having the world's richest man setting up shop here. And one of the first things Elon did was give a million dollars to the local school district. Chump change to him, and a not-so-subtle bribe of the city.
The estuarine and beach area are key stopovers for migratory red knots, three species of plovers, and other endangered birds. None of which makes any difference to the launch schedulers. Save RGV is an outgrowth of the Sierra Club's opposition first to the liquefied natural gas development in the sensitive Bahia Grande ecosystem then to SpaceX's destruction of the Boca Chica environment.
The almighty dollar rules. Authoritarianism ignores native peoples rights and traditions, destroys sensitive environment without qualm, and is unhesitating in throwing cash around to make sure there is no effective opposition to their plans. It is NOT a partnership! It's a simple case of "Me boss, you not!"
Thank you Steve. I was there in November 2023 when one of the rockets exploded and there was a strange turquoise colored cloud left behind and it made me wonder about chemical exposure as well? What kind of chemicals do these rockets release when they take off and when they explode and what kind of exposure impacts do they have on people and wildlife?
The fuel is liquid oxygen and liquid methane. It's not exotic, and it produces huge quantities of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) and water. The turquoise color was probably light refraction through the fuel that vaporized when the rocket came apart.
Another impact that is less evident is the suppression system used to cool the blast pad during launch. It takes millions of gallons of water per launch, and SpaceX has now become Brownsville Public Utilities Board largest customer. One has to ask why they are using increasingly scarce fresh water when the Gulf of Mexico (sorry, but it is NOT or EVER WILL BE anything else) is just a couple of miles away with an unlimited quantity of salt water that is free.
But the force of the rockets when ignited creates a huge cloud of steam from the suppression system as well as a "blast effect" in the vicinity that eradicates every living thing for hundreds of yards in every direction. Developers are eliminating our estuaries to build homes, malls, and recreation facilities while Musk is just incinerating this one.
Unrelated question: how hurricane-proof are the launch facilities at Starbase? It's only a matter of time before it gets hit.
Thank you for answering that question about the chemicals. And yes, an excellent question about hurricanes. I imagine they deal with this at rocket sites in Florida so would be interesting to know if they have the same safety features in Texas.
Our Brownsville home is about 8 miles due west of Starbase. I can watch the launches from the end of my driveway. Even at that distance, the noise is impressive, and the ground shakes. The state historic site Port Isabel Lighthouse is half that distance, and they have had to set up monitoring equipment to measure the damage to the structure. They also have had to build a padded cradle to enclose the precious Fresnel lens during launches. And we the taxpayers get to fund it. What a good deal!
The grift is that it is "creating jobs" in the area. Really? What makes anyone think that Brownsville, Texas is a cradle for rocket scientists? The prime job holders are imported. But the local administration has its ego stroked by having the world's richest man setting up shop here. And one of the first things Elon did was give a million dollars to the local school district. Chump change to him, and a not-so-subtle bribe of the city.
The estuarine and beach area are key stopovers for migratory red knots, three species of plovers, and other endangered birds. None of which makes any difference to the launch schedulers. Save RGV is an outgrowth of the Sierra Club's opposition first to the liquefied natural gas development in the sensitive Bahia Grande ecosystem then to SpaceX's destruction of the Boca Chica environment.
The almighty dollar rules. Authoritarianism ignores native peoples rights and traditions, destroys sensitive environment without qualm, and is unhesitating in throwing cash around to make sure there is no effective opposition to their plans. It is NOT a partnership! It's a simple case of "Me boss, you not!"
Thank you Steve. I was there in November 2023 when one of the rockets exploded and there was a strange turquoise colored cloud left behind and it made me wonder about chemical exposure as well? What kind of chemicals do these rockets release when they take off and when they explode and what kind of exposure impacts do they have on people and wildlife?
The fuel is liquid oxygen and liquid methane. It's not exotic, and it produces huge quantities of carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas) and water. The turquoise color was probably light refraction through the fuel that vaporized when the rocket came apart.
Another impact that is less evident is the suppression system used to cool the blast pad during launch. It takes millions of gallons of water per launch, and SpaceX has now become Brownsville Public Utilities Board largest customer. One has to ask why they are using increasingly scarce fresh water when the Gulf of Mexico (sorry, but it is NOT or EVER WILL BE anything else) is just a couple of miles away with an unlimited quantity of salt water that is free.
But the force of the rockets when ignited creates a huge cloud of steam from the suppression system as well as a "blast effect" in the vicinity that eradicates every living thing for hundreds of yards in every direction. Developers are eliminating our estuaries to build homes, malls, and recreation facilities while Musk is just incinerating this one.
Unrelated question: how hurricane-proof are the launch facilities at Starbase? It's only a matter of time before it gets hit.
Thank you for answering that question about the chemicals. And yes, an excellent question about hurricanes. I imagine they deal with this at rocket sites in Florida so would be interesting to know if they have the same safety features in Texas.